Professional athletes are always required to expand their game one way or another, regardless if you’re among the greatest of the greats or some guy at the bottom of the barrel. In basketball, it’s more important than ever as the game can pass you by in a snap. It has also changed drastically over the years, which is evident with the continuous prevalence of outside shooting and quick-trigger offenses.

Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love is among the rare ones who made a quick and successful expansion. While on a remote interview with TNT’s Ernie Johnson this week, Love talked about the process and gave credit to his father, Stan, who was the first to throw the idea of adding the key weapon in his arsenal.

According to Kevin, father Stan pointed him out to the greatness of Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, and how effective the future Hall-of-Famer was due to the seven-foot frame and elite outside shooting.

The elder Love played in the NBA back in the ‘70s, and saw action with three different teams. He was known to have a smooth jumper himself, which might’ve prompted the affection to Nowitzki.

“He really looked at Dirk and he said ‘This is the guy that you need to watch.’ If anybody had a profound impact on my career and being able to extend my game and play inside-out. Be that stretch-4 man, and see where the game has gone now with pace and space and small ball. He had an idea of bigs stepping out and using their shots to their advantage.”

Heralded as a bulky, bruising inside presence coming out of high school and college, Love listened to his old man’s advice and worked on his game. He eventually put defenses on notice during his breakout third season (2010-11 campaign) – back when he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves – as he immediately boasted a much-improved touch from beyond the arc.

From a standard double-double guy, Love’s bolstered play resulted in averages of 20.2 points and a league-leading 15.2 rebounds per game, en route to winning the 2011 Most Improved Player of the year award.

Love continued improving his outside game. By the 2013-14 season, he has proved to be one of the most prolific players in the NBA, putting up fantasy-friendly numbers 26.1 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2.5 threes per contest. He ranked eighth in threes made (190), and led all power forwards and centers that season.

The stretch-4 style took on a much bigger impact upon getting traded to the Cavaliers in 2014, where he formed a big three with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, and the expectations were championship or bust. With his help, the Cavs went on to capture the city’s first ever NBA title in 2016.

Fast forward to 2020, Love is now deemed as the franchise’s star asset as James and Irving have both departed. He has netted 17.2 points, 10 boards, and 2.2 treys in his six combined years in Cleveland.